Awami League bagged 388 chairman posts, while its arch rival BNP only got 66 in the 5th phase of Union Parishad elections held on Saturday.
Besides, 170 independent candidates won chairman posts, in what was the best showing by them in the 5 phases held so far, while the HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party, fighting in its stronghold; 9 chairman posts in the elections.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Election Commission had compiled the unofficial results of 633 out of 717 UPs that went to polls in the 5th phase. Earlier, 39 other AL contestants were elected unopposed finding no rival against their respective posts in this phase.
Some 40 other UPs need re-election as the balloting was suspended in 53 polling stations on Saturday due to election irregularities and violence. The commission did compile results of the remaining UPs till Sunday afternoon. As in the previous phases, the 5th phase of UP election was marred by massive violence that killed at least 10 people on Saturday.
In the first four phases, AL bagged 1,836 chairman posts, including 152 uncontested ones, while BNP got only 243 chairman posts and independent candidates – including the so-called rebels of both AL and BNP won in 526 posts.
According to Shujan, a civil society platform that works for democratization, till May 25 more than 100 people were killed in election violence after the Commission first announced the polls schedule for the lowest tier of the local government on February 11. The final and sixth phase UP election will be held on June 4.
